Lime Hills Academy is a SEMH Special School located on two temporary sites-one in Weston and one in Nailsea offering an education to children from Year 5 to Year 11.
At Lime Hills, our purpose is to provide a nurturing environment where students feel known, accepted, and loved. Personalised learning plans are tailored to individual student needs. By building strong relationships grounded in care and high expectations, we empower students to unlock their potential to achieve success, growth, and pride on their own terms. We are committed to helping students feel a sense of belonging and to have a voice, enabling them to reflect on their journey, appreciate their achievements, and walk confidently towards their future.
Children at Lime Hills will be supported to develop self-regulation and a broader window of tolerance in their daily life so that they can access academic opportunities at their point of readiness. Each child will have a different range of needs and hence a different range of opportunities and interventions, and the curriculum will be designed around an understanding of the individual: no two curricula will look the same.
The staffing structure will support children to access learning through being more regularly in optimum arousal stage: this will be enabled by ensuring children are attached or allocated to three key staff, helping them to build relationships over time and enabling them to feel safe and thrive, even in the face of change. The small number of people working with each individual enables optimal arousal to learn, without the vulnerability associated with ensuring trusted connections with only one adult.
The day will involve routine and structure which creates a feeling of safety, without the rigidity of a mainstream setting: staff will be trained and empowered to deviate from routine where appropriate to help an individual to make progress socially, emotionally or academically whilst maintaining the very highest expectations. Lime Hills meets the needs of those most in need of specialist intervention. This is underpinned by the core HEART values of the CLF, namely:
Our school values which underpin how we interact with all students are:
“Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need.”
Rick Riordan, The Red Pyramid
LHA and its governing body recognise that all students have differing abilities, learning styles and rates of progression and operates an inclusive approach to all learning for all students to ensure the potential of every student is maximised irrespective of ability, disability, race, social origin, religion, gender and sexual orientation. Inclusion is the responsibility of all staff within LHA. LHA is ambitious for its students and will create a learning environment that enables all students to succeed and progress beyond their expectations. Inherent to this achievement is the promotion of a positive learning culture where all students recognise, value and enjoy the learning experience; respect diversity; are safe and feel safe; and gain the skills and attitudes they need for future success. In line with the 2014 SEND Code of Practice, LHA is committed to enabling children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to reach their full potential and support families to do the best for their children by adopting a multi-agency approach. The Governing Body will review the SEND policy annually.
Students have SEND if they have learning difficulties or a disability which calls for special provision to be made for them because it is deemed:
A student will not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language through which they will be taught. The identification and assessment of the SEND of young people whose first language is not English requires particular care.
The title of the person responsible for the strategic overview and day-to-day coordination of SEND provision at Lime Hills Academy is the Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO). The SENCO leads the organisation and delivery of a range of learning support programmes within LHA. This includes coordinating a team of specialist staff and support workers across all areas of LHA promoting a whole academy approach to Inclusive Practice.
The SENCO works collaboratively with parents/carers and other agencies along with the Principal, the Deputy Principal for Primary, and other key staff, to ensure the new SEND code of practice is effectively embedded in all practice.
Details:
Ellie Street (Deputy Principal and SENCO), [email protected],
Academy counsellor responsible for SEND: [email protected]
This policy complies with the statutory requirements laid out in the SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 September 2014 3.65 and has been written with reference to the following Guidance and documents:
The policy has been written by the SENCO in liaison with academy counsellors and Principal.
As a specialist school, all students at Lime Hills Academy have an Educational Healthcare Plan (EHCP). LHA will ensure that the necessary provision is made for every student and those needs are made known to all who are likely to teach them.
LHA will ensure that teachers and support staff are able to provide for the range of SEND needs through regular, relevant and appropriate training.
LHA will make reasonable adjustment for disabled students to ensure that they do not experience substantial disadvantage. LHA is committed to ensuring that all students with disabilities have appropriate access to the curriculum and the learning environment. LHA is committed to maximise the participation of all students and members of the academy community.
LHA will maintain a commitment to providing a balanced and broadly based curriculum, which will be personalised for each student.
Resources for SEND will be allocated on the basis of need.
The Principal, along with the Governing body will seek to allocate sufficient resources to support the effective provision of SEND.
Lime Hills Principal, Deputy Principal/ SENCO and the Deputy Principal (Primary) will work with the previous education provider and/or the current educational provider, parents/carers and the local authority to ensure there is an effective transition to LHA, ensuring all new and relevant information is shared effectively. All partnerships with schools, agencies and key stakeholders will be managed effectively to ensure smooth and effective transition experience for students.
LHA will assess the entry levels of all students in the following ways:
Students are matched to appropriate programs of study or pathways, support is in place as appropriate, key workers are deployed and Personalised programs are devised based on students gaps in learning and our curriculum intent. Curriculums are planned based on students areas of interest and include outdoor learning.
Every student has an individual program designed to meet their needs as set out in their EHCP and through identified gaps in their learning.
The SENCO and specialist staff, work with teachers on a continual basis. The SENCO will organise staff training and continuing professional development to ensure that teachers and other staff are clear about how to identify needs, and how to support students with their learning. Staff will have the specialist skills and knowledge needed to provide personalised support programs meeting the on-going and diverse needs of the students.
A Graduated Response will be seen at LHA and will ensure that all learners have the best opportunity to achieve their potential through adopting an inclusive approach in all practice in and outside of the classroom. This method will endeavor to ensure all learner needs are met. Where a learner’s needs are not being met by the LHA approach, the academy will engage additional specialist expertise. In all cases a record of the actions and steps undertaken will be made
Nature of intervention Examples of interventions include:
Facilities and technology Assistive Technology (AT) ensures inclusion and access to the general curricula for students with disabilities within the classroom and increases independent participation across LHA, in the workplace, at home and community environments. LHA will ensure that technology is used to enhance the experience for all students in ways that work best for him or her. For example, this could include accessible software applications that allow students more than one way of accomplishing a task, or accessible multimedia products such as descriptive narration and audio navigation. The training of students in the use of assistive technology will be matched to their individual needs and will be orientated to their age, gender, culture and religious views.
Lime Hills Academy will support the transition from previous schools by arranging student visits to LHA, and taster days if appropriate. We will visit the student’s previous school and home and discuss issues and concerns with parents, students and staff to enable a smooth transition for all students. LHA will support the progression of students to other schools, FE, and training by providing relevant information to the receiving organisation. It recognises the importance of the transition process for students with SEND and the need for effective co-operation between the different organisations involved.
All individual SEND arrangements will be reviewed at least annually with the parents/carer and the individual student to consider whether any amendments need to be made to the special educational provision identified for the student. The annual review should focus on what the student has achieved as well as on any difficulties that need to be resolved. EHCPs and associated targets will be agreed with the student, parents/carers and any other relevant agencies at the annual review. Alongside this formal annual meeting all parents and carers will be invited to discuss their child’s progress twice during the year to enable on-going conversations about progress towards the EHCP targets.
In terms of an overall review and evaluation of the effectiveness of the SEND provision, the governing body will receive an annual report and evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of the SEND Policy. The Principal will provide a full evaluation, and the governing body will receive recommendations relating to SEND provision, and oversee the implementation of any actions. LHA will evaluate and measure the success of the SEND provision annually including the following indicators:
Other CLF Schools, Further Education colleges, The Police and employer partners are essential to our vision and are committed to supporting LHA, providing its distinctiveness, enabling it to meet the demands of the community and achieve its outcomes. All partners share the commitment to supporting students with SEND and this policy is available to them. LHA will adopt a multi-agency approach to SEND and will work with a number of relevant partner agencies to ensure students have the best opportunity to progress whilst at LHA and beyond. These specialist agencies could include: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists, physiotherapists; Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service; Community Pediatrician's; dyslexia specialists; teenage pregnancy services; drug & alcohol services; Youth Offending Team; National Autism Society.
Partnership with parents/carers plays a key role in enabling students with SEND to achieve their potential. Students often have a unique knowledge of their own needs, and their views about what sort of help they would like are to be seen as valid. Students and parents will be involved in target setting at annual reviews. Students are encouraged to identify teaching and learning strategies which work for them. Their views will be considered in every aspect of their education. LHA encourages the perspectives of parents/carers on their child. LHA also encourages any help parents can give to their children at home, and staff will make themselves available to advise on the ways that parents might help their children and to discuss any concerns or give information on progress.
Lime Hills Academy takes very seriously any complaints by parents/carers or students. Any complaint regarding the SEND Policy or the provision made for students with SEND should be addressed in the first instance to the Principal [email protected] or Operations Manager [email protected]
The Complaints policy and procedure should be followed and is available on our website HERE or from reception.
